Collins Cobuild English Grammar (77 page)

If the door is locked, I will try to
break in
.
He believes in
breaking in
his staff gradually.
A plane
took off
.
Gretchen
took off
her coat.
The engine
cut out
.
She
cut out
some coloured photographs from a magazine.

3.94
    Here is a list of phrasal verbs that can be used both with and without an object, depending on which meaning is being used:

add up

bail out

black out

break in

call in

carry on

clear out

cut out

draw on

draw out

draw up

dress up

drop off

drop round

fight back

finish up

get down

get in

get out

get together

give up

hang out

hold off

hold out

join up

keep away

keep down

keep in

keep off

keep on

keep out

keep up

kick off

knock about

knock off

lay off

leave off

look out

look up

make out

make up

mess about

miss out

pass off

pass on

pay off

pick up

pull in

put in

roll up

run down

run off

run over

set forth

set off

set out

show off

show up

split up

stick out

stick up

stow away

strike out

string along

sum up

switch off

take off

tear off

throw up

tuck in

turn away

turn back

turn in

turn out

turn round

turn up

wind down

wind up

work out

wrap up

3.95
    There are a few phrasal verbs that have only one meaning, but that can be used either with or without an object. It is possible to use them without an object because the object is either obvious or can be guessed in a particular context.

It won’t take me a moment to
clear away
.
I’ll help you
clear away
the dishes.

3.96
    Here is a list of phrasal verbs that have only one meaning but that can be used with or without an object:

answer back

breathe in

breathe out

call back

clear away

clear up

cover up

drink up

help out

open up

take over

tidy away

wash up

ergative phrasal verbs

3.97
    Just as with ordinary verbs, some phrasal verbs are
ergative verbs
; that is, you can use the object of the transitive verb as the subject of the intransitive verb.

The guerrillas blew up
the restaurant
.
The gasworks
blew up.
I won’t wake
him
up just yet.
He
woke up in the middle of the night.

See paragraphs
3.59
to
3.67
for information about ergative verbs.

3.98
    Here is a list of ergative phrasal verbs:

back up

block up

blow up

book in

break off

break up

buck up

build up

burn up

check in

check out

cheer up

close down

dry up

get off

heat up

hurry up

line up

move on

open up

peel off

pull through

rub off

shut up

sign up

slow down

spread out

start off

thaw out

wake up

warm up

wear down

wear out

3.99
    In the case of some ergative phrasal verbs, the second word can be a preposition if the other thing involved needs to be mentioned, or can be an adverb if the other thing involved is clear from the context.

…leaves that
had been blown off the trees
.
My hat
blew off
.

3.100
  Here is a list of ergative phrasal verbs whose second word can be a preposition or an adverb:

blow off

chip off

get down

get through

get up

move down

move up

peel off

poke through

stick in

stick on

position of the object

3.101
  When you are using a phrasal verb with an object that is a short noun phrase, you usually have a choice as to where you put the object. It can be placed either after the second word of the phrasal verb or after the first word and before the second word.

He
filled up
his car with petrol.
She
filled
my glass
up
.
He
handed over
the box.
Mrs Kaul
handed
the flowers
over
to Judy.

3.102
  However, when the object consists of a long noun phrase, it is more likely to come after the second word of the phrasal verb, so that the two parts of the phrasal verb are not separated too widely. In this way, attention is focused on the information contained in the noun phrase, rather than on the second word of the phrasal verb.

Police have been told to
turn back
all refugees who try to cross the border.

when the object is a pronoun

3.103
  When the object is a pronoun such as
me
,
her
, or
it
, it usually comes before the second word of the phrasal verb. This is because it is not new information, and so it is not put in a position of prominence at the end of the clause.

I waited until he had
filled
it
up
.
He
tied
her
up
and bundled her into the car.

when the object is an abstract noun

3.104
  If the object of a phrasal verb is an abstract noun such as
hope
,
confidence
, or
support
, it usually comes after the second word of the phrasal verb. So, although you can say
He built his business up
, you usually say
We are trying to build up trust with the residents
. Similarly, although you can say
He put my parents up for the night
, you normally say
The peasants are putting up a lot of resistance
.

The newspapers
whipped up
sympathy for them.
They attempted to
drum up
support from the students.
He didn’t
hold out
much hope for them.